The present invention relates to a structure for mounting an under cover for an industrial vehicle and in particular to the structure where the under cover is detachably mounted on a side frame of the industrial vehicle.
An industrial vehicle such as a forklift truck is provided with a pair of side frames facing each other with an interval from side to side. A device for drive system such as an engine or a torque converter is disposed between the side frames. This type of industrial vehicle often employs a structure for mounting an under cover for an industrial vehicle (hereinafter referred to as under-cover mounting structure) in which the under cover is used to cover the lower part of the area between the side frames, thereby to protect the device between the side frames. The under cover for the under-cover mounting structure normally employs a structure where the under cover is detachable from the lower parts of the side frames in view of convenience upon maintenance.
An under-cover mounting structure according to a prior art is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In this under-cover mounting structure, right and left side frames 71 face each other with an interval, and an under cover 72 which covers the lower part of the area between the side frames 71 is detachably mounted on the side frames 71 by fixing bolts 76. An L-shaped bracket 75 is fixed to the inside of the lower part of each side frame 71 through the bolt 76. The under cover 72 has a pair of brackets 73 formed on the upper surface thereof and a pair of access holes 74 facing the corresponding brackets 73. The bolts 76 are inserted into the brackets 73 through the access holes 74 thereby to fix the brackets 73 to the L-shaped brackets 75 through the corresponding bolts 76, respectively (Refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-8856).
However, since there exists a sufficient gap between each side frame and the under cover in the under-cover mounting structure according to the prior art, chances are large that a foreign body such as dust or moisture enters the area between the side frames through the gap. In addition, it is easy for noise sounded by the device disposed in the area between the side frames to leak out of the area through the gap. Furthermore, when the under cover is mounted on the side frames in the prior art structure, it is necessary to accurately position each bracket and the corresponding L-shaped bracket to each other for insertion and screwing of the bolts. That is, unless the side frames and the under cover are simultaneously positioned in vertical, longitudinal and lateral directions, it is hard to insert and screw the bolts into the corresponding brackets. Furthermore, operation that the under cover is mounted on or detached from the side frames using the bolts needs to be performed through relatively narrow access holes. Thus, it is complicated that the under cover is mounted on or detached from the side frames using the bolts, which gives an operator a lot of trouble.
The present invention is directed to an under-cover mounting structure for an industrial vehicle which not only prevents a foreign body from entering an area between side frames through a gap between each side frame and the under cover but also simplifies mounting the under cover on the side frames and detaching the under cover from the side frames than ever before.